1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a cyclone-type dust-collecting apparatus separating dust and dirt from a cyclone stream by a centrifugal force formed by a cyclone stream in the suction air including dust and dirt flown in through the suction port of a vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical example of the above-described cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner is shown in FIG. 1 and described hereinafter.
In FIG. 1, the reference number 100 is a conventional cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus, 200 is a cleaner body, and 300 is a suction brush. As shown in FIG. 1, the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus 100 has a cyclone body 10, a dirt-collecting receptacle 20, a grill assembly 30, and a protruding flow path 40.
The cyclone body 10 has an air inlet pipe 11 and an air discharge pipe 12. The air inlet pipe 11 is connected with an air inlet path 210 (shown in phantom) formed to provide a connection through a suction port (now shown) of a suction brush 300 of the cleaner body 200. The suction discharge pipe 12 is connected with an air discharge pipe 220 (shown in phantom) formed to provide a connection through a motor driving chamber 310 of the suction brush 300 of the cleaner body 200. The air, including entrained dust and dirt, flown in through the suction brush 300 passes through the air inlet path 210 and the air inlet pipe 11 and flows in direction tangential to the cyclone body 10 and accordingly a cyclone stream is formed in the cyclone body 10. The dust and dirt included in the cyclone stream is separated by centrifugal force of the circulating cyclone stream and the cleaned air is discharged outside through the air discharge pipe 12, the air discharge path 220 and the motor driving chamber 310.
The dirt collecting receptacle 20 is removably connected to the lower part of the cyclone body 10 and collects dust and dirt separated by the centrifugal force made by the cyclone stream in the cyclone body 10.
The grill assembly 30, as shown in cross-section in FIG. 2, is disposed at the beginning of the air discharge path 12 inside the cyclone body 10 and prevents the dust and dirt separated from the cyclone stream from reversibly flowing through the air discharge pipe 12. The grill assembly 30 comprises a grill body 31 and a number of paths 32, disposed on the outside surface of the grill body 31, to be connected with the air discharge pipe.
The protruding flow path 40 is for large particles of dirt separated from the cyclone stream in the cyclone body 10 being smoothly collected into the dirt collecting receptacle 20 disposed below the protruding flow path 40. The protruding flow path 40 has a first protruding portion 40a and a second protruding portion 40b respectably formed by protruding one side of the lower part of the cyclone body 10 and the upper part of the dirt collecting receptacle 20 outwardly in the radial direction.
The general cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus 100 has air inlet pipe 11 and air discharge pipe 12 of the cyclone body 10 disposed at the cleaner body 200 respectively to be connected with the air inlet path 210 and the air discharge path 220 of the cleaner body 200, as shown in FIG. 2.
When the cleaner is in operation, suction force is generated in the suction brush 300 as the motor of the motor driving chamber 310 is driven. The air, including the dust and dirt found on the surface to be cleaned, is flown by the suction force in to the cyclone body 10 through the suction brush 300, the air inlet path 210 and the air inlet pipe 11. The flown in air is induced by the air inlet pipe 11 to move in an oblique or tangential direction along the inner circumference of the cyclone body 10 to form a cyclone stream and accordingly the dust and dirt included in the air are separated by the weight created by centrifugal force and is then collected in the dirt collecting receptacle 20. The cleaned air is discharged outside through the paths 32 of the grill assembly 30, the air discharge pipe 12, the air discharge path 220 and the motor driving chamber 310. During the dirt separating process, large particles of dirt are smoothly collected in the dirt-collecting receptacle 20 through the protruding flow path 40 and therefore prevent large particles of dirt flown into the cyclone body 10 from clogging the paths 32 of the grill assembly 30.
The conventional vacuum cleaner having the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus separating the dirt from the air and collecting it by the above described structure and operation generally has the cleaner body 200 slantingly disposed to the suction brush 300 at a predetermined angle and the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus 100 of the cleaner body 200 is also inclined in the same angle and direction that the cleaner body 200 is slanted. Therefore, the dirt stored in the dirt collecting receptacle 20 is stored at a high level on the protruding flow path 40 side of the dirt collecting receptacle 200, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2, and the dirt over flows through the protruding flow path 40 as the dirt level in the protruding flow path 40 side of the dirt collecting receptacle 20 reaches the level of the cyclone body 10. The dirt collected in the dirt-collecting receptacle 20 is finally discharged through the paths 32 of the grill assembly 30 and accordingly lowers cleaning efficiency and pollutes the surroundings outside the vacuum cleaner during discharge of the polluted air. Additionally, large particles of dirt unable to pass through the paths 32 may clog the paths 32, making it impossible to avoid lowering cleaning efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to change the structure of the cleaner since reverse flow of the dirt is caused by the protruding flow path 40 disposed at the back of the cyclone body 10, i.e., on the cleaner body 200.
Meanwhile, the dirt collecting receptacle 20 for storing dirt in the vacuum cleaner having the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus provides a suitable place for the various bacteria to live and breed. Accordingly, various bacteria, such as mites, exist in the dirt collecting receptacle 20, and it causes problems as the bacteria is discharged outside together with the dirt being reversed or released with the dirt when the dirt collecting receptacle 20 is empted, thereby and polluting the environment.